Small Print of the Job
by RagChinaDoll
Summary: Full Summery inside: While Danny and Adam work an ordanary crime scene the criminals responsible come back. What will become of the little LabRat? First in a series.
1. Chapter 1

**Full Summary: **While Danny and Adam are working at an ordinary crime scene they find themselves in an old nightmare. When the criminals responsible for committing the crime come back and begin a shooting match. With Danny tending to a gun shot wound Adam finds himself coming face to face with his own mortality. Set after late season 5 early season 6.

**Rating: T for strong language and gruesome imagery.**

**Disclaimer: CSI New York is not mine. It belongs to the creators of the show. I only take created for the Original Character and plot. **

**A/N-08/2011: As I went though my stories to see which ones would need to be update next and which would be quick to finish I realised that I had left this story alone for too long. So I decided that I would read up on my notes and check this chapter for misspellings and errors when I also decided that I didn't much like it. So I have changed things around and added a bit more writing. Hope it looks and reads better now. **

**Default Chapter: **

We cross our bridges when we come to them and burn them behind us, with nothing to show for our progress except a memory of the smell of smoke, and a presumption that once our eyes watered.

- Tom Stoppard

Run. He had to run. If he stopped he would die if found by the members of their hands. If he stopped he would face a fate worst then death if found by him.

Turning a right he found himself coming against a dead end. He had blocked himself in. In front of him was a large printing press behind a wild pack of gang members.

"Have you reached the end Mister Hardy?" the hair on the back of his neck instantly turned up. He prayed to high haven that his fears weren't correct. As he turned slowly his fear was confirmed. He was there standing in the shadows a sinister smile spreading across his blood smeared face a glint of murder in his eyes.

"I'm guessing you didn't want to see me?" the voice came from behind him. Stepping out from the darkness the man moved his hand so that he could retrieve something from in side his jacket, "You shouldn't have pulled that trick on us back there. After all we've given you every chance, to right the wrongs, but you are just so stubborn. So I'm just going to have to take things into my own hands," taking his hands from out of his jacket he held up a knife crusted with blood.

"Please. No, no, no...!"

The sun was high in the sky the heat radiating down on the people of New York as they went about their lives. The silent wind ghosted across the face of Adam Ross as he walked in to the deserted factory that had become their crime scene.

A young Caucasian male had been beaten and stabbed then left to bleed out on the factory floor to be found by the cleaner while on his rounds after the weekend had ended. The factory, now only used to print out the daily newspapers, echoed inside allowing all the occupants to hear each foot step that was ever taken.

"Hay Adam," Danny greeted as he stood up from collecting a sample from the body.

"What happened to the guy?" he inquired as he took in the battered and messy remains of the victims face.

"By the looks of things he's been beaten to hell but the killers didn't think that was enough and decided that he needed a good beating," Danny replied looking up at his friend a sudden hit of Da Ja vu.

Adam looked around nervously. There was something about this building that was starting to make him become incredible nervous.

As if sensing Adams discomfort Danny stood to place a hand on the other mans shoulder "You recon you can get snappy with the camera and follow that blood trail? 'Cause I can only do one job at a time," he gestured to Adam to take the camera as he pointed to the blood trail leading further into the building a smile spreading on his face.

"No Patrol officers," Adam said as he waved his hand around, "there a party I'm not invited to?"

"No such luck buddy, officer involved shooting down the street that's where Mac and the others are at," Danny's voice was flat and devoid of any emotion other then hate.

Adam nodded and turned to set about his given task. No sooner had he started did he hear the unmistakable sound of a gun.

As more bullets splinted the floor and the boxes he stood by he turned in time to see Danny, who was still by the body, drawing his gun with his right while his left was clutched to his side, blood sleeping though the fingers.

Adam stood shocked. This was worst then the last time he had been ambushed at a crime scene. The last time he had to deal with beatings and the burns on his hands, this time he had to deal the more oncoming threat of bullets that were much quick and unpredictable.

"Adam, find cover!" Danny yelled over the two shots he fired.

Hiding behind his temporary shelter Danny reached for his cell phone to call for back up. He knew that he wouldn't be able to hold of the shooters on his own and with Adam away from him so he couldn't protect him easily which is why he sent Adam to find shelter. He didn't want to have Adam out of his sight but he knew that his standing in the open would not be good ever.

As another bullet hit the box by him splinter wood and paper mush-shay fell on him like cheap convety at a street parade. He was just able to get the phone to his ear, "This is CSI Messer, I'm in need of urgent back up at my..." another bullet more convetty, the shots were getting closer, "at my location. Suspects on scene, I repeat suspects on scene."

Adam didn't have to search for long until he found a safe place that he would be able to hide in away from all the danger. Kneeling behind what he suspected to be a giant printer he waited to he hear the beautiful sound of sirens.

Unknowingly he had found his way to the beginning of the blood trail he had original been following. It was large covering almost the whole floor near the giant printer.

Step, Step, Step

The gun shots echoed off the walls telling Adam that it could not be Danny that was causuly walking up behind him. It could have been back up but there hadn't been enough time for them to call in the ambush.

"I saw you Rat, you can't hide from me, I can smell you," Adam stiffened as he heard the chilling voice close to him. He thought that if he kept him self quiet pressing himself further into the wall he would be able to keep himself hidden from the voice.

"I can see you," the voice sang coming dreadfully closer.

A sudden cold sharp rush immediately came over him as his side quickly became thickly warm and wet with a slow spread of blood. Looking down, fear already evident in his eyes, he saw the tip of knife quickly exiting his side.

"Run Ratty," the unknown voice said beside his ear as the hand moved from his side to his back pushing him forward.

Adam stumbled slightly before he found his footing and he began to run deeper into the building.

"Run Ratty, Run Ratty. Run, Run, Run. Here comes your killer with his gun, gun, gun," the voice sang as Adam turned a corner, "Bang! Bang! Bang! Goes your killer's gun. So run Ratty, run Ratty. Run, run, run. Got ya."

A bullet flew right by his head stopping him in his tracks. The next few actions went by quicker then he would have been able to run a trace on a cell phone. The knife that had previously been stabbed into his side went straight back in the same location cutting a bigger uglier wound this time.

"Not very good at this, are you?" he snarled as he retracted his blade from Adams side extracting a small whimper from his throat.

"No, please," Adam begged as he slowly descended to the floor his legs suddenly not wanting to hold his body up any longer.

"You know I have always wanted to kill a Ratty," Adam felt hands pulling at his jean pockets. He tried to instinctively swat them away only to have the tip of the blood crusted knife hovering over his rib cage. "Adam Ross, Ratty Ross, what a funny little name," He laughed.

Looking into his eyes Adam could see only morbid joy. This man was enjoying seeing him in pain and causing that pain made him happy.

Slowly the knife descended in to his skin making easy work of going through his gray button down shirt.

"I've always wanted to know how a Ratty would react to the end of my knife," Adam wished the man would stop calling him that. He had been called worst when he was younger by the playground bullies and even closer but there was something about the way that the man said the word that made Adams stomach turn.

"So Ratty Ross how loud can you scream?"

Sirens burst into the stilled silence alerting Danny that the Backup he had called for had arrived. He wasn't certain how long he had been waiting or how long the shooting had come to an under his watch having been damaged with a sudden connection with the floor. He did know it had been long enough for his bullet wound to stop bleeding like a rapid flood until it slowed down to a trickle, close to that of a leaking tap.

Looking up and beyond the splintered wood chips and shredded paper that had become the front of his temporary shelter he saw the welcoming sight of the team; Stella, Mac, Flack and Linsay along with various members of the NYPD.

"Danny," Lindsay was working her way over to him careful not to disturb much of the crime scene. As soon as she had cleared the area around the body and still being careful not to knock the shell casing and dead bullets on the ground she ran up to Danny wrapping her arms around his neck.

"Are you okay?" she asked as he held in a winch of pain.

"I'm okay, just got a graze to the side," looking down he saw that his once clean navy blue shirt had turned crimson down from were he had been caught on his left.

"Oh God Danny," Lindsay gasped as she lifted up the hem of his shirt, "You should get checked out at the hospital."

"It's a good job you have me around then," Hawkes said as he came up to the two of them. Looking around he realised there was someone missing, "Danny where'd you hide Adam?"

Danny looked around only realizing then what he had said to the lab tech, "I told him to find shelter, we were separated before the shooting happened he was. Hay Adam you can come out now the cavalry arrived," he yelled loud enough so that it would travel a far distance.

There was no reply.

"Hay Adam," Hawkes said as he turned to look around the area. That was when he saw the blood trail that had previously caught Adams eye. "Maybe he went this way?" he put in following the crimson path.

"He was over here before every thing happened," Danny added wincing slightly as he tried to change his position.

Slowly and carefully they began to follow the blood smears hoping that it would lead them to Adam. Guns drawn and pointed to the ground they slowed down as they heard a voice in the distance.

"You're going Ratty and not even one single scream," the voice was cold and disjointed, hysteric and on the point of madness, "I'm almost upset."

As the turned a corner nothing could have prepared them for the sight they saw.

Lying on his back in the middle of a pool of his own blood lay Adam. He was too still his body only moving with occasional ripples properly caused by pain or massive blood loss. His skin was paler then the water itself. His head was tilted to the side, eyes closed, away from the man leaning over him.

"NYPD, put your weapon down and step away," Flack yelled as he walked up to the scene knowing deep inside his mind that if no one stepped in then Adam was as good as dead.

The man took of his feet flying through the air as he ran. Stella and Flack took of after him as Mac and Hawkes ran towards Adam. Lindsay stayed by Danny who was shocked still.

"Oh God," Hawkes breathed out once he had reached Adam. Reaching out to place a hand on Adams neck to check for a pulse he was shocked at how cold his friend had become. It didn't surprise him though. True being a doctor he knew that the body would grow colder the more blood it lost but that didn't mean that he couldn't be shocked by his friends lake of body heat.

"Adam," the younger man stirred slightly at the sound of his own name, "Adam its Sheldon, can you look at me, wake up Adam and look at me please," Adam did not stir further. Applying slight pressure to one of the large blood covered wounds on Adams chest.

"Let...go...pleass..." Adam moaned out pleading for the pressure to be released.

"I'm Adam I can't I have to apply pressure to your wounds to steam the blood flow. It's the best chance we have to save you okay, I'm really sorry but it going to hurt," keeping the right amount of pressure on the wound, enough to slow the fall of blood but not hard enough to cause further damage, he cleared his throat before turning to Mac, "I need you to take over from me so I can check for over injuries."

With a quick change of hands Mac pushed down on the now countable about of seven knife wounds as Hawkes moved himself so that he could lean over Adams face reaching for his flash light in his jacket pocket.

"Pupils are non responsive, his pulse is slowing down and," he stopped as he moved his hands to the back of Adams head, "The guy smashed his head on the ground. Basted."

Behind them Lindsay was on her phone calling for an ambulance. She couldn't bring herself to go any further then she was.

Beside her Danny stood shell shocked.

He had put Adam into this situation. If had kept Adam closer to him he would have been able to keep him away from the unknown danger he had fallen into.

"Aghh," he stumbled back with the outburst of pain from Adam.

"I'm sorry Adam," he whispered under his breath, "I am so sorry."

- End of Chapter -

**Still the longest first chapter I have ever written. I kept the closing words the same as in the original first chapter because that was the only part I really liked. **

**The song that the voice (as I have dubbed him) sang is a twisted version of the World War 1 or 2 time song Run Rabbit. It is one of my favourite songs from that eerier mostly since I had to sing it with my class in front of every one in year 3 I spent about two weeks learning it by heart.**


	2. Chapter 2

**I've not done this before so I apologise if it's incorrect, because of the really sweet and heartfelt reviews I have received I wanted to reply to you all. So here goes: **

**To EvilChibiHikari: I can understand your love of Adam in pain stories, I myself love the stories were he's hurt drastically because it makes me want to put him in my pocket to protect him from harm. And a very, extremely, belated-thank you.**

**To err-who am i: Firstly love the name, very creative, secondly thank you for your encouraging input. I've tried to write stories before where I'm building the tension in the first chapter alone but this is the first time it has ever worked out for me. I'm going to try and include the adorable Adam-Babbling (as I have dubbed it) I just hope that I can capture it as well as it is acted on the show.**

**To lortenfide: I will try to complete this story but this chapter had been the hardest thing to write since learning how to spell my name. I'm glad that the first chapter captured you so that is what I have aimed for with my writing from day one. **

**I'll apologise now for the lack of knowledge in the medical field. I've done a bit of research but I couldn't get my untrained mind to understand most of it. **

**Hope you like. **

**Disclaimer: Still don't own any of the characters you may recognise. I would like to say I found them on my door step but that has only ever been in my dreams. Original characters are mine however. **

**- Chapter Two -**

Sheldon Hawkes was a magician with a scalpel, when it came to finding the answers hidden with a person after death he was a master. When it came to operating on a person to save their life he was skilled. When he had chosen to make the move from morgue to the crime lab he wanted to make sure that those magical skills would stay with him.

The damage one person could inflict on another surprised him to new levels each time he was looking at a blooded crime scene or a ripped up body left for nothing. Even after all these years in the medical filed, in helping heal and helping move on, he feared for the hope of humanity finding peace as a union. There was the amazement he always found, knowing that the body could take an incredible amount of damage that could kill and most likely would kill a person yet it fought and in some instances survived.

He had worked on several stabbing victims in the past, some of which he had thought where too far past his ability and the others working furiously around him to save their life. That survived. By some haven sent miracle they lived, they were currently walking around the streets with their loved ones even after that fateful missed appointment with death.

There were some he saved that never where the same after. Some that he saved that he regretted saving, the ones who didn't deserve to live and let others die. Some that he saved yet didn't, the ones who still lay in a blank hospital room on a thin uncomfortable bed, no one visiting them because they had been forgotten about.

The blood decorating his arms, his clothing and splashed on his face sliding down to the floor to flood the metal in a bitter red belonged to someone who he hoped a miracle would be bestowed. He remembered the times he was in ugly scrubs in a surgical room, elbow deep in blood, trying to save the fragile life slipping between his fingers of the life of a twenty-nine year old, who was in the wrong place, at the wrong time and happened to bump into the wrong person.

"Hawk…" the rightful owner of the blood that he was suffocating in wheezed out. Fear set deep in his voice it seemed like it had always belonged there.

"I'm here buddy," he said trying to muster up as much reassurance in his voice the he could find in the depths of his being to offer his friend hope. He couldn't show negativity in front the man, he knew that Adam could sense doubt in the air then the path for his survival would narrow.

"Tell um… tell him I'm 'oray," his voice an echo of what he was used to, "'ell um…I tied."

The unnatural sound of his friend's voice alerted more fear within him encouraging the panic already settled there. His friends eyes, previously holding un-breathed laughter looked as if someone had reached within them and pulled all the joy, happiness and everything that made Adam Ross the man he was away from him to be replaced by fear, hurt and terror that didn't belong.

His face now seemed to be permanently contorted in a mask of pain, and, even though it hadn't been an hour past finding him in this way, he wished for nothing more than the scene to burn away. For the return of the lingering smile and hissed jokes, the Adam Ross who spoke in stuttered sentences, not the Adam Ross who slurred his speech in quite voices.

"Hawk," his voice whispered again, "dian't 'ream for 'um," Adam's lips twitched up in joy from a fact only he knew, "'eee wa'ned ma ooo, ut idian't." his words became more slurred and incoherent, his eyes slide closed without movement.

Hawkes was worried; there was no more movement from Adam's body he appeared to become a flimsy doll moving only with the bumps in the road, his facial features where slack, numb, pale from blood loss and the shadows behind his eyes.

Then two hearts began to dip, "Ad…," he swallowed, "Adam," the reply he got was not spoken by a voice but caused by the machine attached by wirers to the body lying on a thin uncomfortable bed traveling in an ambulance to hospital.

A continues screaming erupted from small speakers that shouldn't sound so anxiously loud.

"We're losing him," the female medic beside him screamed almost as loud as those anxious speakers, "pass me the intubation tube. Crap, paddles, we are so not losing you mister," her voice was soft yet stubborn.

The flimsy doll jumped up from the uncomfortable bed as the electricity flew into him, "come on Adam hang on, j

It was then that he made the promise to himself that he would not allow his friend to die this way, he didn't deserve to die this way, he promised himself that he would do everything within his own power to prevent his death.

Danny's eyes were focused on a red stained tile on the floor. The nurse who was attending to his gunshot wound was standing on a part of it so he wasn't sure what it was, blood or medicine.

He had been given a clear liquid of medicine when she had told him to sit where he was now. She had said that it was to help prevent infection and to dull the pain slightly so he wouldn't be moving in pain as she fixed his wound. And all the while he had been transfixed on that stupid spot, that stupid, ordinary, average run of the mill spot ever since he had sat on the hospital bed.

He had gotten to the hospital over half an hour ago and had been ushered into this cubical to be treated. He had tried to nudge the nurses away, pretend that he wasn't in any pain but he couldn't hide everything from the multiple eyes watching his moves and they had silenced his every complaint.

Lindsay and Flack had taken him to the hospital with Hakes going with Adam it left Mac and Stella to process the scene. He wanted to stay behind as well but mac had ordered him saying_ 'You've just been involved with a shooting and found your frie…' _he cut of attempting to think how best to approach such a subject, _'you need to get checked out and we have to focus on this scene and find the guy who did this to him,' h_is voice becoming shaken and flat as he spoke.

After another attempt at trying to talk Mac into allowing him to stay, he found himself in the back of a car being driven to the hospital refusing to look, talk or be touched by anyone including Lindsay.

"We're all done here, Mister Messer, you're going to have to keep it dry and do try to not pick anything heavy up you don't want to pull the stiches out," with that said the nurse walked away leaving him facing the disturbed faces of Lindsay, Flacks and Hawkes who had joined them at some point, each sharing the same look between them.

"What happens if he doesn't wake…," Lindsay's arm in his side stopped Flacks words.

"Don't let me stop ya," Danny said as he approached the group.

"Hay Danny, how you feeling?" Hawkes asked his voice flatter than usual. His shirt had blood on the lower half, properly from when he had been helping Adam previously, the sleeves of his shirt, also smeared with blood, where wet from when he washed his hands.

"Arm's uncomfortable, bit stiff too, anything on Adam?" and that's when 'the look' appeared on their faces. 'The look' that said be careful what you say. 'The look' that said we know something that you wouldn't want to. "What's going on? Is he okay?"

"Danny maybe you should sit down," Lindsay said reaching out to him.

"Maybe you should tell me what is going on," he replied as he shook her hand away from touching his arm.

"Adam went into shock on the way here," Hawkes started eyes focused on the ground, "we managed to get him back but we think he may be bleeding internally. He was taken straight into surgery as soon as we got here."

Danny was shocked to say the least. He knew that the amount of blood they found Adam surrounded by wasn't a good thing and he knew that there was bound to be further damage done to him since the stab wounds appeared to be deeper than just flesh wounds, "what do ya think his chances are?" he asked his voice heavy with personal punishment.

Hawkes looked at him in the eyes, his own echoing what he saw in Adam previously, "it's too early to start guessing now, all we can do is pray."

It had taken a while for Stella and Mac to process the crime scene alone. The had split the crime scene in half, she had volunteered to handle the back of the crime scene where they had found Adam leaving Mac with the front of the building where the original scene was found. Now they both stood at the front of the building looking at all the yellow, orange and red markers planted around the open space. Yellow indicated shoe prints, orange for shell casings or spent bullets, and red, ironically, for blood.

"I found ten different types of bloody shoe prints at the back of the building. I found most of them where Adam was," she had to pause still taking in the state they found her young friend in, "I expect some will come back to us, I'll run them all through the shoe print database, hopefully we'll get something that will help us narrow down a suspect."

"I found four at the front of the building and this was stuck in one of the prints," Mac said holding up an evidence bag with a piece of a computer disk inside of it, "I'll take this back to the lab have Adam," so used to the normal ways of speaking about his team Mac didn't realise the slip up in his speech, "sorry, I can't get my head around this."

"I know. For starters why would they attack i day light and why attack Adam? Who'd hurt Adam? He's, he's Adam," Stella replied her mind lost with the enigmas surround her sight.

"There was a tone of shell casings behind those boxes other there," Mac pointed towards the mounted of boxes stacked on top of each other along the walls, "multiple different calibre bullets and gunpowder residue there was several shooters. Looks like they may have been waiting there for a while, I found empty bottles and fibre bars behind one of them."

"I found a bullet in the wall close to a small blood pool. Speaking of blood pools you can guess what I found in the back," Stella's voice was flat and shaken, "two different blood trails, both indicating someone running towards the back of the building while bleeding. I also found three different blood smears, one suggesting that someone was dragging the body to where it was found, another on the wall about waist height also indicating someone running towards the back and you and I both know how the larger one got there.

"I got samples from each of them and this, I saw him throw it when we chased after him, one blood covered knife with print," a small smile began on her lips. They had a chance, a small one, but a chance to get answers now.

Mac's cell phone began to ring pulling him away from her for a while, leaving her with her thoughts. Each time she blinked her eyes she saw when they stumbled upon Adam. The way he lay there covered, surrounded, by his blood, eyes closing and barely breathing he didn't look right.

"Stella," Mac spoke behind her, retrieving from her thoughts, "just got a call from the hospital. It's not good."

**-End of Chapter-**

**And on that bombshell, I'll leave it there. I've got most of the next chapter written up and if you lovely reviewers leave me a message I'll post it ASAP.**

**I'm not happy with the way I wrote everyone in this chapter, they just seem very OOC. But after writing the same parts the exact same way numerous times I decided to leave it and post. Beside I want to read all your wonderful reviews. **

**Once again apologise for the delay and also for the spelling and grammar issues. I am learning how to work with them better, but it's a slow process. **


	3. Chapter 3 Part One

**Disclaimer: Don't own, no one has left them for me on my door yet. Still hoping but I think it's beyond my wishing ability. Original characters are mine however. **

**A/N: I'm not even saying anything. Read on.**

**- Chapter Three Part One -**

Six hours had passed since the call out to the crime scene, five and a half since the following shooting and the attack on Adam, five hours and forty-five minutes since Adam had been taken to the hospital, and four hours since Stella and Mac had finished processing the crime scene and a phone call had been made.

It was four hours ago that they had learned that Adam Ross had died on the operating table. His heart had stopped beating and he had bleed out from internal bleeding that no one had been able to stop. Four hours ago the case they were working on had changed to a double homicide.

But no one had guessed that Adam Ross was a strong fighter. Adam Ross wouldn't let that happen to him and before the doctors had been able to call time of death his heart had started to beat again. Beyond any documented evidence a dead man had come back to life with no, as has been found, worldly help.

Four hours ago Mac Taylor answered a phone call that told him that one of his best workers had died and came back to life. Four hours ago he had been told that Adam may be in a coma for the rest of his life and even if he did awake from that coma he may not be the same as he was before the incident.

What had happened six hours ago had forced Mac's crime lab to change. He had been forced to call everyone in to help process the evidence they had found, from the hospital and of duty employees, he had even called in a favour with the police chief to get extra hands on the street search to find witnesses of any kind, evidence that may be linked or for some random luck the killer.

Stacey, a recently transferred finger prints analyst, had argued about being called in on her day off which was a bad thing to do when confronted by an angered Mac. She had been told by a fuming Mac and an even furious Stella about her un-sensitivity to the circumstances surrounding this case thus confirming to the rest of the lab about the news involving Adam. She had been sent out in the field, just to get her out of Macs sight for a while as he calmed.

He had a group currently working though unsolved cases with similar MO's. He wanted to find any links that would give them a suspect. When Danny had arrived at the lab with Lindsay he had put him with that group. Not only because he wanted someone who would work passionately to find answers but because he wanted him to stay in the lab knowing that, along with his injury, he also wasn't in the right mind to be in the field.

Lindsay and Stella where working on the prints and DNA respectively.

Lindsay had been able to ID the victim as a Richard Victor Hardly a government banker who was reported missing three days prior to the finding of his body. Other prints came back unknown or a match to Danny or Adam. There was however one miracle print found in the blood.

"Stella come look at this!" Lindsay had exclaimed with more joy then a child playing with a kitten, "We have a link to an unsolved murder case from five years ago. Ironically both prints were found in blood pools. Sicko must like to get involved, intimately."

"You can guess how the DNA is panning out. What isn't the victim's or…," she couldn't voice his name so she left it unspoken, "well let's just say that our guy or guys to be precise is not known to us. Giving what we've learned he loves over kill, knows some basic criminology and could have possible killed in the same way before."

"Let's just catch him before he has a chance to do it again. Any way I best take what we've found to Danny, help him narrow down his search," She spoke as she printed the page from the computer screen.

"How is he?" Stella asked. She hadn't let it slip from her mind the way he had looked at the crime scene, especially after Mac had ordered him to the hospital.

"As you would expect from him," was her reply as she left the room.

Sid, after conducting the autopsy, had ventured up to the lab to inform Mac personally about his findings. "Hardly was beaten to death, by the size of the bruises there may only be one attacker. Strangely I found a stab wound to the heart post mortem. May be the killers trade mark if he's done this before."

"Can you think of any cases that remind you of this?" Mac had asked hoping they could finally catch a break in this.

There was hope with the next words from Sid's lips, "Of hand two. One recently as it happens, spill over from night shift. If mind serves me correct two junkies stumbled across a body in an ally, man was beaten to death and then stabbed post mortem. Demotic issues involved and killer as yet not found. No suspects." He finished.

"What else did you find?" Mac had questioned allowing some of the disappointment into his voice.

"Skin cells under the fingernails, I've sent them to Lindsay, and I found what appears to be a computer chip in his stomach contents. Strange place to find such a thing," he stopped his eyes descending to the ground, "anything progressive been found yet?"

"Early hours Sid, I'll keep you updated on our findings." With that both men walked away from each other, one to find a murderer the other to comfort the grieving family of the dead.

Hawkes had stayed at the hospital for some unspoken reason. He had been able to collect samples taken from Adam, although it was suspected that they had properly been contaminated, that where currently being delivered by police escort to the lab. He had promised to keep the team up to date with any changes on Adam's prognosis.

Which is one of the reason's Mac was standing in his office talking to the other man on the phone.

"Who do you think he meant for you to tell?" Mac questioned. Hawkes had informed him of the apology Adam had intrusted him to deliver

"I don't know Mac. He was pretty out of it. What with the mixture of blood loss, shock and trauma he had just gone though he could have been hallucinating for all I know. Not to mention the fact I could hardly hear him clearly,"

"Repeat to me what he said again. The exact way he said it."

Breathing a long sigh out Hawkes reached into his memory of those moments, "okay he said, 'tell um I'm sorry', it sounded like sorry but his speech was too slurred for me to understand fully. He then said 'tell um I tied'. I'm guessing he was trying to say tried or tired."

"He could have meant Danny, to tell Danny that he was sorry to tell Danny that he tried," Mac added not fully understanding what it could be that the tech could have wanted to apologise for.

"How's everything on your end?" Sheldon inquired trying to change the subject slightly.

"Not a lot as far. As soon as we're done here, I was going to call everyone in for a progress report. I may need you back here later. I've got people in to cover all other cases but we still have one case involving an officer that I have been informed is the labs top priority, and more cases are coming in," it was true. Bizarrely, since getting back to the lab, they had three suspicious deaths handed to them, one car crash, and a burglary gone wrong handed to them. The police chief had pleasantly informed him that, 'just because one of your men is stupid enough to get caught by a killer doesn't mean you are allowed to let your lab fall behind', it had taken a lot of strength not to hit the man.

"I understand that Mac, but I wouldn't fill right to leave him here." Mac could hear that something was being hidden behind those words.

"Is there something else I should know?"

"In the ambulance he said something like he didn't 'scream for him' that's what I could make out. It's the way he said it Mac. He was happy about that fact. I think the killer may have spoken to him, tried to get him to scream properly told him something like 'if you scream it'll end' or on those lines. If I'm right, Adam may be able to identify the guy and if he hears that Adam survived…"

"He'll come after him," Mac finished, "okay, for the time being you stay there. I'll call Flack have him send a couple of officers over to the hospital. I'll be over as soon as I can let you get some rest. Until this guy is caught I don't want to take any chances."

He was about to hang up when Hawkes spoke again, "Hay Mac, could you bring some clothes for me. Mine where covered in blood and these scrubs aren't really doing it for me at present."

"I'll send some other with the officers." Before the call was completely hanged up the phone began to ring again, "Taylor," there was no reply "hello?" he questioned into the receiver.

He was answered by the dial tone on the other end.

He had been busy for the next hour or so arranging with Flack to have the protection detail arranged and clothes sent to Hawkes. He was so caught up in his own actions that he had failed to notice Stella approach his door until she had started to talk.

"Mac, we've got something." Stella voice came from the door, "something big."

**- Continued in part two -**

**I bet I had you all thinking I had killed poor Adam there. I was tempted too but I like him too much for that. **


	4. Chapter 3 Part Two

**- Chapter Three Part Two - **

Stella took him to one the computer conference rooms where the rest of the team, Danny, Lindsay, Flack and Sid, where awaiting his arrival.

Danny was standing at the front of the tables with the control in his hand, "form looking over the unsolved cases, I found seventeen that match our MO. I've managed to rule out two of them from date and description given by both witnesses from today, including Flack and Stella, and from witnesses taken then of the assailant, which left me with fifth-teen. Lindsay."

"Thank you Danny," she said as she stood and he took her empty chair, "as I was running the prints recovered from the scene today, I matched a print to one found at the crime scene of one of the fifth-teen cases. The murder of a Matthew Hagen bludgeoned to death then stabbed post mortem. Bloody fingerprint found on the man inside pocket presumed to have gotten there when the wallet was taken,"

"I reviewed the autopsies of each case and ruled one out; the stabbing wasn't committed post-mortem it was in fact the cause of death, which doesn't seem to be what our guy want out of the killings," Sid said keeping his eyes on the paper in his hands.

"The majority of the cases the victim worked in a high paying job and may or may not have been involved in gang related crimes. Three of them where," Flack brought up three images on the computer screen, "so that's how that thing works," he said slight in amusement, "gang members ready to give evidence to put big players behind bars. At first we thought that it was another gang member trying to get up the food chain. But again nothing could be proven. For some of the other cases they all appeared to be muggings gone wrong. Until," He passed along the control to Stella who was already waiting it.

Bringing up mug shots and id photo of each of the four-teen remaining possible cases, "eight bank employees or other similar jobs where they'd be in charge of large sums of money including our vic today, three gang members and one possible member, one wife beater, and two John Does later and we have a serial killer on our hands."

"That still needs to be proven Stella, we'll need all original evidence found at the scene's, police reports and backgrounds check on any person remotely linked to any victim I don't care what remote link they have if they breathed the same air I want their names and history."

"What about the police chief, isn't he already breathing down your neck?" Lindsay inquired.

"I'll worry about him, right now Adam's alive and may be able to ID this guy when he wakes up, if we're right about the serial killer angle then he's in trouble. I don't plan on letting him down or allowing a killer on the streets when we could put him behind bars, because the ones in the big seats aren't happy about it. From this point this is our main focus," Mac paused to look at their faces, "everyone okay with that."

"For Adam," Danny stated starring Mac in the eyes.

"For Adam," Lindsay repeated looking at Danny with concern flooding from her.

"For the little guy," Flack put in as he joined the others at the front of the room.

"Anything," Stella voiced as she

"Looks like he has one small army protecting him," Sid said standing from his seat.

"Great, Danny and Lindsay I'll need you two to stay around the lab and go over the evidence, anything that hasn't been found, find it. Flack, I'll need you to interview any of the officers involved with any case we've brought up. I want you to check if there are any links between what we've found today and any holes in their reports. Sid, go over the autopsy's any more links or connections I want to know about them. Stella, you and I will be going to the hospital we need to speak to the doctors. Alright everyone's knows what to do, let's get to it," he said as he turned to leave before stopping, "As a point of interest, what was the name of the gangs involved?"

"Nameless Vision, a high level organised crime gang involved in a lot of money business, and Truce Never Ending, practically punks with guns who try to act like big shots shot big guns. They may sound like a bunch of angry musicians but they sure don't act like one," Flack answered as he reached the door, "Just got a page from the precinct, there's a reporter waiting for me."

"Good luck," Stella wished him.

"I'll need it," with that he was gone.

Mac and Stella left the room talking to each other about what they had each just learned leaving behind a silent Danny, a concerned Lindsay and a focused Sid.

**- End of Chapter Three –**

**While I was writing this chapter it ended up being twice as long as I had thought. So I spit the chapter in two and made a whole other section a different chapter, which may possible be up within a week depending on how long it takes to get the kinks out of it. Hope you enjoyed this chapter. **


	5. Chapter 4

**Okay the chapter that was originally the last chapter of the whole story is now the second to last chapter. YAY**

**Oh I forgot to reply to the reviews of the last chapters which I apologise about it slipped my mind since I wanted to get that chapter out. Here are my replies to the reviews of the previous chapter though:**

**VentFort67: My sister always calls me evil al the time, it could be because I poke here with pencils, but it's the first time that being called evil has brought a happy smile instead of my wicked grin out. Its good being evil this time since I wanted to see the response it would being out, also I wasn't sure if I wanted to kill him off at time of posting or not. Thank you for your words, it's encouraging to know someone likes my work and happy to be helping you in English (although what you can learn from me I have no idea).**

**Time wise this chapter jumps from before, during and after the previous chapter. You'll be able to spot the time difference when Just so you know the beginning of this story takes part before, during and after the previous chapter. The change in perspective should help with that. **

**-Chapter Four-**

(Two hours before previous chapter)

"You hear about the guy Doctor Quinn's been given?"

"Not yet, why?"

"Well from what I've gathered, he's a cop or something and some guy apparently cut him up real good. I heard there was over seventeen stab wounds. One on top another"

A group of first year interns stood around one of the information desks talking to one another.

"My gosh, that's terrible."

"You know I heard he was gutted, like a fish."

"He's died twice already but they brought him back. Once was a miracle, twice?"

"Someone told me that there were so many stab wounds that the guys lucky to be in one piece sill. Hay apparently half his skin was carved off."

One person taking a sip of water choked, one gasped in shock, another Shocked gasps echoed from each party.

"That's one strange sicko."

He loved hearing such whispered words about his work he received such a rush, especially when spoken by voices that still held innocence's. He had wanted to stay and feed his ego but he had work that awaited his hands.

He was taking an incredible chance entering this building; others in his filed wouldn't take the chance to do what he needed to do. But he wasn't others in his filed. This was his life; he took the chances that he was paid for. He'll receive a call, he'd do his research and then he'd strike at the moment the target would lease expect anything to happen.

Recently he was finding his life dull, as if he was working a normal nine-to-five job only, yet instead of a cubicle being his office the streets was his office, instead of using a pen he used a knife, instead of minimal wage he chose his own pay check. Same crimes committed in the same ways. He wanted, needed, to find a new way, better way, to do his job.

His last job was an interesting one, paid to handle one man than called later that night to stay around and make sure the police found only what 'they needed to find, not what they wanted to find', he didn't suspect that those idiots he had with them had other commands to follow. He didn't know he'd find the adrenaline drug Ratty by staying behind.

"Hello sweetheart, I wonder if you could inform me of the whereabouts of officer involved stabbing?" he asked one of the nurses who walked by him.

"Give me a second officer and I'll find out for you," she walked to the information desk he had passed by and began typing on the computer. As she past he straighten the sleeves of his uniform. The only way he could be certain of getting into Ratty's room was by using a police uniform he had 'collected' one day.

"He's just been transferred to SICU, it's on the seventh floor," He nodded with fake thanks and walked to the elevator a short distance away from him.

He had acted like a beast with Ratty; he had gotten carried away and didn't complete his craftsmanship with him. He left a witness behind. A witness who could describe the shape of his face, knew what shade his eyes where, the shade and style of his hair, knew the detail spoken by his voice, would be able to give small detail that would ID him with time.

A witness that had, from the Intel he had found, a background in scientific, friendly nature and an unspoken past that made him well loved within the wall of his job.

He had no other choice but to finish his work here. Finish Adam Ross of before anyone misses him.

Getting out the elevator he spotted the 'Doctor CSI' talking with a nurse who had small specs of blood on the bottom of her uniform sleeves. Her skin was pale and she was sweating, her eyes never made contact with the 'Doctor CSI', her hands were playing with her uniform, she had properly been sent out of the surgery room because of her nerves.

"…Doctor Quinn would like the contact information, in case… in case we're forced to. But as soon as Doctor Quinn is finished for the time, Mister Ross will be transferred to one of the anti-bacterial rooms where he'll be kept under observation for the next twenty-four hours until a decision is made."

Observation in a hospital, especially when the patient was being kept in one of those silly specialised room, wouldn't give him any chance to enter unnoticed and leave after finishing what he had come for.

"Thank you nurse," the 'Doctor CSI's' voice was low and defeated. Had his actions caused that? Was he the reason for the responds he was hearing?

Did Ratty mean something to someone after all?

If this was true, then now wasn't the right time for him to be around here. He'd have to wait for a while, get a few things together and leave town for a day or two until the police presents to let down a little.

"To be continued…Ratty," he whispered to the heavy air around him before turning on his heels and walking back to the elevator, "To be continued."

Reeling still form the information he had received, Hawkes stayed slumped in the chair he had fallen into after the nurse left the bag with the clothing brought by the officer, currently inspecting the floor, clutched in his lefts hand.

Twenty-four hours, twenty hours now since he had taken this seat, until a decision had to be made. The nurse had told him that Adam may become paralysed for the rest of his life if they deemed it necessary to before surgery to remove the tip of the knife that was still lodged in one of his ribs dangerously close to his spinal cord. The doctors weren't positive that, if they undertook the surgery, they'd be able to remove the tip without causing any more damage.

He'd have to call Mac soon. He had made the promise to keep him noted about what was happening with Adam. He had also made the promise to himself that he wouldn't let Adam die like this yet he was beginning to believe he promised that in vain.

"Hawkes," Mac's voice came from down the hall. He would have stood if weren't for the fact he couldn't get himself to do so, "Hawkes are you alright."

"I'm not Mac. It's not good man, he's not good." He said barley able to hear his own voice.

"What's happened?"

Danny had been starring at the computer screen for the last twelve minutes at the results that had popped up.

Blood Evidence, Sample Number 22, blood drop trail leading away from body

Collected by: CSI Stella Bonasera

Result: Positive match to Adam Ross, Lab Technician New York Crime Lab, 33 Years Old…

He didn't have to read the rest of the information contained on the screen, after all he had been working alongside the man for the last five few years, he just couldn't drag his eyes away from the glowing letters.

This result would mean that, along with the seven matches made by Lindsay and Stella, almost all the blood came back as a match to Adam, out of all of them only five belonged to someone else, one blood trail and smear belonged to their victim, the other blood smear came back as unknown. The knife was proving to be tricky.

He had been finishing of the DNA matching for Lindsay who, by his definition, wanted to get him away from the research they had been doing. He didn't argue, lords knows he wanted to, he just followed the orders of his wife and after a quick coffee interlude sat at this desk running samples though CODIS.

"Danny we need to talk," his wife said from the door. Lindsay was worried about him, he could tell by the way she stood near to him, the way that she looked at him when his eyes had been traveling the lines of the page in front of him. She had been trying to get him to talk to her since they had returned to the lab but he changed the subject or refused to talk.

It was about time that he talked to her, "I know," he replied finally taking his eyes away from the ridiculously bright glowing letters.

"What happened there that's making you act like this?" she asked taking his hand in hers. From the way she was holding his hands she could feel his pulse quicken, his breath intake also becoming fast as if he was struggling with something. "Danny tell me, I need to know what happened that's effecting you like this."

"I..." he stuttered. Breathing heavily he forced himself to continue, "I told him to hide. I sent him away so that he could be attacked. I'm the reason this happened to him. I should have tried to get him back to me where I could have protected him. I should have…" he stopped again. He was finding it hard to breathe without the fear he'd let a tear escape now. "It's not fair that he could die and I can live on with you and…and"

"Danny, you listen to me okay. You were getting shot at, from what we have gathered you were blocked from doing anything but fire back and hide. There was no way he could have done anything different. If you had told him anything different then what you had, he could have been shot himself." Lindsay argued, kissing her husband brushing away each other's tears with their cheeks.

"He could still die, because I let him down again."

It had taken half an hour for Hawkes to tell Mac about what he knew, "they suspect some brain swelling as well they administered some medication for they're going to do some x-rays after the medication they administered wears off. Not to mention that he could possible not be the same mentally now, he could have permanent brain damage or amnesia or any other type of memory loss. He flat lined, stopped breathing, and brain swelling could result in anything. Right now he's in an anti-bacterial room, he may be comatose, but they say he has a fighting chance. That's if he comes out of the coma."

He didn't like the sound of that news. Admittedly he wasn't a doctor like Hawkes, but from the way that Hawkes voiced dropped when he talked about the information, "What's your view on the surgery?"

"From what I've managed to gather it may be best to operate again. The risks of leaving it inside of him out play the cons."

They stayed silent for a while, until Hawkes turned around to Mac asking, "Mac, you mind hanging around here for the doctor to return, I've been gasping for a coffee for the last hour and I'll have to get changed sooner or later."

Standing he waited for Mac to nod in reply before walking away. His mind replaying the words the nurse had told him all the way to the male restroom.

**-End of Chapter-**

**The end is near every one, the next chapter will be the last. Oh and It will be a great treat and another display of how evil I can work. **

**I have been to a hospital that had, what I think was, a Starbucks while in Scotland when I was younger. I think it was a hospital could have been a one of those special hospitals I was pretty young when I was there. **

**Some of the medical BS is correct some has been made up, hay it's my writers privilege, also the blood results I wrote are based from a screen cap I found from one episode since I wanted to make it look real, I'm not one hundred percept certain if what I wrote is what they show on screen it's not a very good screen grab. The same can be said for the info on Adam. I wasn't able to get a definite answer to his date of birth, stupid internet websites contradicting each other. **

**That's all I gotta say. **


	6. Chapter 5

**A/N 10/08/2012: It was pointed out to me that my dividers weren't being devidery, so I have changed the dividers and am reposting so it is easier to read. Thank you to VentFort67 for pointing it out to me.**

**VentFord67: Thank you for your words, to know that my writing is helping someone is an awesome feeling. Hope you like this chap.**

**Well it's been fun these last few months, but we've reached the end now. This is the final chapter and possible the hardest to write. I'm hoping for some fantastic reviews at the end with everyone's reactions. **

**Time wise this continues on from the last chapter. **

**-Chapter Five -**

"Detective Bonasera?" Stella heard behind her. She had been waiting in the non-emergency treatment centre for the last half an hour waiting for the petite dark haired doctor now standing in front of her, Cordillera Green.

"Doctor Green?" she asked in return for confirmation.

"I that'd be me, please accept my apologises for my tardiness, a patients isn't responding the way they should to treatment. The joys of being a doctor, now what can I dee for ya?" the bubbly young doctor asked. Stella could hear an accent in her voice that sounded like it was fading from years of living away from their true home.

Cordillera worked at the hospital, and occasionally at the labs morgue when there was a back log, as a diagnostician. Like many who trained to become a mortician she was trained as doctor, she couldn't give you the satisfaction of saving lives. So she chose to have the best of both worlds, save the dying and deduce from the dead.

"I need to talk to you about something we believe may be connected to the recent attack to the CSI technician yesterday, if you know of any autopsy's you've done that fit this type," she handed her a folder she had picked up before leaving the lab, "of death. We believe we've found a link between the person who attacked our man and this MO."

"Nope, no bells are being rung, sorry," she said handing the folder back.

"That's okay, thank you for your help," she said as she turned and began to walk away. She haltered in her steps when she heard the doctor speak again behind her.

"There was Doctor Lehman," she walked over to the message broad pulling of an article and handing it to the detective in front of her, "a psychiatrist; he worked mostly with PTSD sufferers. He was a strange guy, paranoid more than his patients and never really trusted any one. He was found beaten to death in his office at the beginning of the year," she stopped to think. She looked scared as if remembering something terrible that only lead her to pain.

"Please any information you have may lead to an arrest," she begged. She knew she may have sounded pathetic but she didn't care as long as she was getting answers.

"I've been sending patients to him that I wanted further diagnoses of for years new. Over the course of our communication we got close. A few days before he was found dead, we spent the night together, the way he was acting made me suspect something tribal was going to happen. Then then I received a letter in the post the following day. Said if anything was too happen to him I was to stay away from people who were his patient's, not to trust the Vision…"

"As in the gang?" Stella interrupted.

"Could be, but that would be your department, I help the ailing you deduce the dead. Oh before I forget, this key came with the letter," she said handing a letter she took from the necklace around her neck, "he said I would know what to do with it. But I don't. Hope you can get me the answer."

"Thank you, you may have helped a lot." Stella said as she walked away, fingers still wrapped around the mysterious key as she dialled Mac's phone number.

"Taylor."

"Hay Mac, what do you know about a Doctor Lehman, killed early this year?"

The whole team stood around the evidence table starring down at the forty or so evidence boxes the contents laid out on the table. Crime scene photos, reports, and a variety of evidence in both paper and plastic envelop.

"How many are we looking at?" Stella asked as she picked out the contents list of one of the boxes. Mac stood by her reading one of the more recent reports from the last few days' events.

"Thirty-seven victims all killed with the same MO. Ten bank employees of various positions, five doctors, seven lawyers, four known gang bangers and elven John Does, and that's just from the last ten years," Lindsay read out from the sheet in front of her, "there are a few others that we think may also be connected but we haven't been able to make a positive connection."

"I've just had a very interesting conversation with a reporter from a local rag. Says he was researching an attack on 'Jack Miller' eight-teen years ago who was nearly stabbed to death by his step son while fishing that he was contacted by the supposed attack warning him not to publish the report. The guy said, 'Vision has his back, you come after him, we come after you.' Now I may not be as smart as you lot but I think that the Miller attack could be our guy's first strike," Flack reported as he walked in the room, "wow you guys worked quick."

"I went through the evidence from the Lehman case, found what the key belonged to," Stella held up a photo of book, "this is no ordinary book. Open it normally you get a book with a story that makes no sense, remove the spin you get a lock which the key fits into. When it's opened you get," as she spoke she showed a different photo responding to each different fact as she got the last one she continued, "a hard drive. I sent it to Connie. She should be coming up with results soon."

"A book that's a hard drive, Adam would love one of those," Danny whispered sadly.

"If you've got a spare million you can get him one as a get well present," Connie Tucker announced popping her head into the room. Connie was the night shift DNA tech who, when the occasion called for it, stood in as AV tech. "The hard drive was filled with CCTV footage, if you'd like to follow me to my borrowed accommodation," she lead the way to AV lab. Tacking up her chair, Mac noticed that it was her own customised chair and not the one that would usually be in the room, she continued, "I found our murder happen, be warned it's not pretty."

She played the footage of the murder on the large wall screen. They watched as the doctor ran around the room opening draws and cupboards searching. Then the door was kicked open and a shadow walked in. the beating wasn't quick, it was slow and almost tortures to watch let alone be the one getting beaten.

"Now I've watched this several times and I'm going to be sending you my therapy bill boss," Connie joked as she span in her chair to look at the team. Double clicking the wireless mouse she held in her hand popping up a close up of a pixelated face, "I got you this. Guess he didn't know about the camera or he wouldn't have looked up."

"You got a face," Danny blurted out.

"Hell ya I got a face. I've already run it though the database, matches a missing person case from New Jersey, guy named Gerard Richard Miller. Went missing when he was nineteen, same night his step dad a Jack Miller was attacked while they were fishing. The S-dad said the only thing he remembered of that night was catching the biggest fish he's ever seen and not being able to record that. Fishers I'll never understand them."

"Matches what I heard from the reporter," Flack said eyes locked on the screen, "I'll do some digging. Get the reporter back in, see if I can contact our friends in New Jersey for the reports." Flack left the room, already talking on his phone.

"Yea and that's not the least of it. Your Lehman guy was one parodied guy. He had multiple high tech military graded cameras, same goes with the hard drive, and not mentioning the encrypted folders I can't open. I'm still getting up dated with the most recent releases, and the most recent unreleased. I'm sorry guy's I'm not Adam," she said face downcast.

"You did well," Mac said as he looked at the report he still had in his hand, "were you able to pull anything from the chip Sid found?"

"Frayed not. Stomach contents dematerialised most of the data. All I could pull from it is what you'd get in a tin of spaghetti letters, jumbled up letters. Hi Staz," she greeted the tech who walked in the room before turning back to her work, "I'll keep working at it."

"Can I help you Stacy?" Mac asked as he turned to the technician.

"This was just delivered for Adam. There's no address, just his name in black marker," she said handing the brown envelope she held with both hands.

Taking the envelope from the lab techs hands, Mac examined the outside of it before he opened it. Inside he found a hand written note which he read to himself:

"_To Ratty's Team,_

_ I thought that by addressing this to Ratty I would get your attention faster, and if you weren't nosy shame on you CSI's because the events that follow are your fault. Yours alone._

_ I can't tell you how sorry I am to hear Ratty may die, he was such a brave soul and deserved to live. Of course if he does live then you'll have to protect him better, because it will mean even more fun for me. I've always wanted to be a wanted man maybe it'll help me reach a large cliental. _

_ Thank you Detective Messer, I'd never would have thought a 'Tangle-Wood-Boy' would help out a pathetic gang like the 'Vision' by sending Ratty into our waiting arms. I wouldn't have had the fun I did if it hadn't of been for you. But do listen to Little Lindsay because it's not all your fault. _

_Stella Bonasera you too are to thank, if you hadn't of pulled rank to get of the case I would have never of gotten the chance to meet Little Ratty Ross. You made the right decision to catch up on sleep instead of doing the paper work you had said you were doing. You must give the same advice to Doctor Hawkes, the way he's walking back and forth in that hospital ward; he'll wear out his feet before he gets any news. _

_Finally to Detective Taylor, you'll be hearing from me soon. You've got something of mine and I want it back whatever I have to do, with or without your co-operation I will get what I want back. Look out for yourself and your team, even I don't know how far I'll go._

_Tar, tar for now, G."_

"What does it say Mac?" Lindsay asked him as he reached the last line, her head peeking over his hands to see the words written.

"It's nothing," he lied shoving the paper in his pocket. "We've all been working none-stop on this," he said addressing his tired team, "I think it'll do both us and the investigation some good if we get a few hours rest. But first I suggest we drop by the hospital, check in with Hawkes and see how Adam's doing. We meet back here in seven hours; eyes refused and ready to catch this SOB."

Sheldon Hawkes was worn out mentally, emotionally, physically, his body ached, and he wondered how much longer he would be able to stay standing. Before he had received a call from Mac, he had been talking with Adam's doctor about Adam's chances of survival. They had finished operating on Adam and he had been moved to a clean room, when the team arrived they got to choose who would be first to suit up and visit him.

Doctor Quinn had informed him that the decision had already been discussed and made about the further surgery Adam would need. They would operate again on Adam within two days, depending on circumstances, to give Adam's body a chance to recover slightly. To quote the doctor 'because of the state Mister Ross is in the chances of him surviving this type of surgery in his current state would be slim.'

"Hawkes," Sid's voice came from down the hall. He looked up to see the elder doctor walking towards him, the rest of the team wasn't with him.

"Hay Sid?" he greeted inquiry in his voice.

"The team are on their way, they had to lock up the evidence before they left I said I'd meet them here." Sid explained once he had reached Hawkes, "you should rest, you looked as if your about to turn to jelly on your feet," Sid noted as he directed them both to the chairs nearby.

"You're properly right, but sleep is the furthest thing from my mind at the moment," Hawkes replied as he rubbed his tired eyes. "You know when you have to tell a patient's family the bad news, some of the time they thank you as they hug each other in mourning, sometimes they scream with tears running down their faces blaming you, and other times they just stand there like a rock. I thought that I'd be prepared for something like that but I wasn't. And when we were in the ambulance, I tried to be a friend but I didn't know what to say to help him…"

"Sometimes-" Sid started, "sometimes the best reassurance we can give is to just be there."

They stayed silent until the rest of the team arrived a few minutes later,Mac heading the group towards the two doctors. They all sat or stood in silence for a while, no one knowing what to say.

"One of us is allowed to see him," Hawkes said when the silence had become too much for him, "the doctor said visitors were allowed in for ten minutes each. You'll have to scrub up and wear a mask, possible an anti-bacterial suit, who wants to go first?"

"Could I?" Danny asked stepping forward.

"Hay Buddy," Danny said as he stepped into the room his voice was slightly muffled due to the mask he wore, "I think that this is the quietest I've ever seen you." He laughed bitterly as he sat in the seat by Adam's bed.

Adam was hooked up to numerousmachines, each designed to keep a mechanical eye on if his body was functioning correctly or to help aid his body to function. An oxygen tube was down his throat, he could see the ECG electrodes tapped to his bare chest, bare except the multiple bandaged wounds, and there was a wad of gaze…

Danny stopped looking around the room, choosing instead to focus on Adam's face. He had been cleaned of the blood and dirt that once covered his skin now you could see have pale and bruised he was, his eyes had dark bags under them but you couldn't tell what was bruises and what was from overexertion, the hair that he could see (that wasn't hidden by the bandages) had been shaven so the doctors could tend to the wounds. Danny wasn't sure what distressed him the most, the extent of the injuries, the machinery, or the fact that he was responsible for Adam being where he is now.

"I'm not sure what I wanted to say to you…" he stopped to clear his throat. Looking to the ceiling as he continued, "Lindsay says I shouldn't blame myself, says that you wouldn't blame me, for what's happened, but I do. I just don't get it Adam! I've been in shoot outs before, never once have I ordered someone to go running blind further into a location were the shootings going on. Why didn't I ju-"

He was hushed by the cry of the heart monitor as the electronic heart signature dropped.

"Adam," he said shocked as he stood, the fast action knocking the chair to the floor "Adam, Adam," he repeated pushing to call button on the wall, "help!"

He was pushed aside within moments. More machinery was attached to Adam's body, the bandages on his side were pulled off allowing the blood to seep into the mattress, the doctors and nurses where ordering each other.

As one of the nurses stepped aside for the doctor, who held two paddles in his hands, he was pushed out of the room by another the door closing in front of him. The last thing he saw was Adam body lurching of the table.

Slow steps echoed in the darkness.

A silhouette flashed against the wall as a fire was lit.

Two bodies burned began to singe as the flames linked their skins.

"I've done my part of the job," the silhouette said into the phone as he stood and watched the ragging fire. He turned jumping of the ledge stained in petrol fumes. Walking towards theback entrance, that used to be used for delivery trucks, he heard the click of a gun behind him, "you surprise me Mister Davies. I would have expected you to have run." Turning around the silhouette looked at the shaking young man who was holding the gun in the air. "Would you excuse me Steven, you're not so unexpected guess has arrived. Davies, you see behind you, that's what's happened to your friends that acted so foolishly early today. You shouldn't play with guns especially not when cops are involved."

"I've been given my orders; you wanna be shot in the back or the head?" Davies said voice quivering with each word.

"I'm guessing I'm not what you expected. You shouldn't really pull tricks on people like me," he said lowering his hand that held the phone moving around his back, "after all the training I've given you people you try a stunt like this? It really upsets me."

"Yea well, it was always the plan for you."

"Was it really, that doesn't surprise me. A silly little group as yours would stoop to such levels. You know you should never let a man reach behind his back?" his hands came back from behind his back to revile a short blade. His next action was quick, with one small flick of his wrist he through the small knife at Davies leg, cutting him on the side.

Davies fell to the floor, withering in pain.

Walking out of the shadows into the light of the fire, Gerard kneeled down beside the now chocking gang member, "I came across these when I robbed a museumcurator's house, in the manufacturing process, poison is burnt into the metal. The poison's called 'Compound 1080', can be inhaled or ingested, tasteless, odourless, water soluble, leading to a quick and painful death."

"Help me," Davies begged, one hand around his throat the other reaching out for the silhouette, begging for help, "please, hel…" his voice trailed off as he fell limp to the floor.

"There is no known antidote. This strain was formulated to seep into the blood. The same effects will happen. The creator was called 'Kant' Mexican assassin killed by his own invention." He stopped as he placed his gloved hands on Davies shoulders pulling the now dead man towards the flames, "I've always liked history. I've recently foundscience interesting; if I had the right teacher I may be able to learn some stuff."

As Davies body began to burn, Gerard kicked over one of the three barrels of petrol he brought located at the back of the factory, "I'd hate to see a part of New Yorks history go up in flames, especially since it's become so dear to me of recent, but something's have to happen. Oh that reminds me," pulling the phone from the back of his pocket he placed it back up to his ear, "you still there…good, just so you know I'm going to be coming after you shortly. You've made too many mistakes that I've had to clean up. See you soon."

As the flames grew taller, Gerard walked back towards the door, "you've reached your end Steven, I'm just stuck on how."

**-End-**

**Stupid ending, ending is stupid. I've ended it in a full-circle as an experiment, let me know how that worked out, since it's something that I love seeing and reading. **

**Any way that's the end of the first instalment. If I get some positive feedback about how this story worked out, then I may be tempted to start work on the next instalment sooner than I had planned. **

**Finally; thank you to all who have reviewed over the course of this very strange story. I hadn't meant for the story to have so many gaps between updates. I've decided to write the whole story before posting from now on. I've learned my lesson. **

**Please review, they help. **


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